raise (redirected from raises the devil)

hair-raising

very frightening. Driving through the mountains was a hair-raising experience.

kick up a stink (British, informal, American, informal)

to complain angrily about something that you are not satisfied with. He kicked up a stink at the restaurant because the meal was late.

See also: kick, stink

raise Cain (old-fashioned)

to complain angrily about something and to cause a lot of trouble for the people who are responsible for it. They know that the children's parents will raise Cain if they're excluded from classes.

raise (a few) eyebrows

to shock or surprise people. Anna's miniskirt raised eyebrows at the board meeting. The player's huge transfer fee raised a few eyebrows in the football world.

See also: eyebrow

raise your game

to make an effort to improve the way that you play a game. They're going to have to raise their game if they want to stay in the Premier Division this season.

See also: game

raise (someone's) hackles

to annoy someone. The politician's frank interview may have raised hackles in his party. The movie's pro-war message made many people's hackles rise.

See also: hackle

raise your hand against/to someone

to hit someone, or to threaten to hit them. I would never raise my hand against a child.

See also: against, hand

raise hell

1. to complain in a loud and angry way about something. She raised hell when she realized her office had no windows.

2. to behave in a noisy or wild way that upsets other people. A group of kids were raising hell in the street.

See also: hell

raise the roof

to make a loud noise by shouting, clapping or singing. They finished the set with their current hit and the audience raised the roof.

See also: roof

raise the spectre of something (British, American & Australian, American)

to make people worry that something unpleasant will happen. Drought and war have raised the spectre of food shortages for millions of people. Napoli's 1-0 defeat at Bologna raised the spectre of relegation for the Italian champions.

See also: spectre

raise the tone

lower the tone - if something lowers the tone of a place, it makes it less suitable for people of a high social class, and if something lowers the tone of a conversation or a piece of writing, it makes it less polite or of a lower quality. A preface from a local clergyman had raised the moral tone of the book.

See also: tone

raise/rear its (ugly) head

if something unpleasant raises its ugly head, it becomes a problem that people have to deal with. All over Europe, racism is rearing its ugly head once more.

See also: head, rear

raise/up the ante

to increase your demands or to increase the risks in a situation, in order to achieve a better result. The government has upped the ante by refusing to negotiate until a ceasefire has been agreed.

See also: ante

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kick up a stink

to cause an argument about something that seems wrong. The consumer group kicked up a stink about the defective tires on SUVs.

See also: kick, stink

raise a stink

to complain angrily about something. Parents really should raise a stink about violence on children's TV shows.

See also: stink

raise (some) eyebrows

to cause disapproval or worry. The styles now favored by many teenagers have raised a few eyebrows among parents.

See also: eyebrow

raise your hackles

to annoy someone. Jim could raise her hackles quickly, but she enjoyed being with him anyway.

make your hair stand on end

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of hackles (= the hairs on the back of a dog's neck that stick up when the dog fears something)

See also: hackle

raise your hand against someone

to fight someone. He was horrified when the situation became so bad that one neighbor could raise a hand against another.

See also: against, hand

raise hell

1. to behave in a way that is not controlled. He never skipped classes or got into fights or raised hell.

2. to loudly argue or make demands. I've been calling them every day, raising hell about it, but they told me I may have to wait until Thursday to get the software.

See also: hell

raise the roof

1. to show great enthusiasm. The whole college is ready to raise the roof at next weekend's homecoming celebrations.

2. to complain loudly. He didn't care if his boss raised the roof or even threatened to fire him, he knew he was right.

See also: roof

raise the stakes

to increase in importance or danger. Employees who lost all their pensions have raised the stakes for the company by going to court and filing a lawsuit.

up the ante

See also: stake